MIAMI — A game-worn, autographed Michael Jordan road jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals has been privately sold for US$14 million, an auction house announced Monday, calling it the highest price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia. Pennsylvania-based Hunt Auctions announced the private treaty sale and identified the buyer as Miami real estate investor Ron Firman. The red jersey is the one Jordan wore in Game 2 of that series on June 5, 1998; he and the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz that night to even the matchup at a game apiece. Jordan and the Bulls would go on to win the series in six games, the sixth and final title of his Hall of Fame career. That 1997-98 season was the subject of the 10-episode “Last Dance” documentary series that was released in 2020. “While Michael Jordan’s importance within the sports memorabilia marketplace has long been established it has now escalated to an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art,” said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions. “We are very pleased to have been able to facilitate this historic sale which serves as another benchmark for our industry.” The $14 million price would be the second-biggest known cost for a game-worn jersey, behind the $24.12 million paid in 2024 for the jersey worn by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees when he hit the “called shot” home run against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. This sale becomes at least the third time a Jordan jersey from that 1998 finals has fetched at least $10 million. A jersey from Game 1 was sold at auction for about $10.1 million in 2022 and a jersey from Game 3 was auctioned last month for about $12.3 million. “Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world.” Firman said in a news release distributed by the auction house. “I’m very excited about the purchase.” The jersey that Firman purchased was originally bought from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003, Hunt said, adding that it “has remained within a succinct chain of custody having only changed hands once from the original purchaser.” Just about anything related to the 1998 finals and Jordan’s final season with the Bulls has been the subject of massive interest in the collector space. In 2023, a pair of Air Jordan sneakers that he wore in Game 2 against the Jazz was sold by Sotheby’s for $2.2 million, touted at the time as “a new world record for the most valuable sneakers ever sold.” ___ Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
